Automatic railway-switch.



- PATENTED MAR. 20, 1906.

U. A. WOODBURY. AUTOMATIC RAILWAY SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED Jim}: 21, 1905.

WITNESSES: Y

" UNITED sTATEsPATENT OFFICE. f

URBAN A. WOODBURY, .OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT.

AuTomATio RAILWAY-SWITCH.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, URBAN A. WoooBURY,

a citizen of 'the United States, residing at Burlington, in thecounty of Ohittenden and I Stateof Vermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Railway-Switches, specification.

My invention relates to automatic railwayswitches and its object is to simplify and improve existing devices of that class.

More specifically stated, the purpose of my invention is to provide a mechanism which: will act to automatically close an open switch 1 when a train which is not intended to enter the siding approaches the same.

Heretofore devices of this nature have been designed to operate under the influence of a spring arranged to be released by an approaching train and which has to be reset each time it is operated.

One of the advantages of my present invention isthat the movement of the switch-1 Figure 1 is a plan View of a switchprovided with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 shows the special truck-wheel on the locomotive. Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view, and Fig. 5 is an enlarged side elevation of the mechanism on the switch-rod 2.

In Figs. 1 and 2, reference-numeral 1 represents the main-line rails of arailroad, and 2.

the movable switch-rail, the latter being, as

usual, carried by a switch-rod 3, running to a switch-stand. (Not shown.)

4 is a long bar or lever which is slidably supported on lugs 10 10, attached to the outside of the rail 1 and which is pivoted at 1 1 on another lug 12. At its outer end the inside edge of this bar lies normally about. three and one-half inches from the side of the rail-head,

gradually ap roaching the same until at the point marke A it is only about one and onehalf inches distant. From this point to the Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed June 21. 1905. Serial No. 266.348.

of which the following is a extreme front end of Patented March 20, 1906;

pivot 11. its distance from the rail'increases. The topof the bar 4 from its outer end .to the point where it is nearest the rail is some two and one-halfor three inches above the top of the rail; but at that point it is bent down- Wardly, as shown, and at the pivot 11 is below the topof the rail. The bar terminates at about an e' ual distance beyond its pivot as that from t e point A to the pivot, which distance may be approximately two feet. At

'its said end it is connected bya pin-and-slot connection 13 to another lever 5, which is pivoted near its center at 14. on a lug 15, projecting from the rail 1.

On the switch-rod 3 is slidably mounted a sleeve 6, the movement of which is limited in the direction toward the switch-stand by a collar 7.

That art of the switch-rod which lies beneath t e rails is, as usual, rectangular in cross-section; but that portion on which the sleeve 6 is mounted is preferably made circu lar in cross-section, as shown. On the said sleeve 6 is pivotally mounted a bell-crank lever 16,'to the arm 17 of which the other end of the lever 5 is attached by a pin-and-slot connection.

Albar. 8, the top of which is on the same level as the top of the bar 4. from its outer end to the point A, runs from said point alongend thereof extending a short distance beyond said rod and having a slot 18, engaging a pin or roller 19 on the other arm 20 of the bell-crank lever 16. The rear end of the bar 8 is reduced in widtliand is mounted to slide loosely in a slot 21, formed in the upperside side the rail 1 to the switch-rod, the forward of the bar 4.. ,A' rod 22 is connected to the this bar 8 for a purpose to be described.

A spring 23, (see Fig. 4,) which may be conveniently arranged, as shown, around the pivot of the bell-crank lever 16, tends to hold said lever in-the position shown in Fig. 1 and to return it to that position when said lever.

has been swung on its pivot to the right. A

stop 24. is provided tolimit the movement of said lever to the left.

To operate the mechanism just described,

thefront truck-wheel of the locomotive is provided with an annular projection 25, (see- Fig. 3,) extending around. adjacent to the periphery of the wheel and projecting'from two andone-half inches to three and one-half inches. from.-the side thereof. When the switch is' closed, the special wheel provided IIO' . with projection will not touch lever 4,

and when switch is open no wheel except special wheel will strike said lever. Therefore the apparatus cannot be brought into action under any conditions except by a locomotive provided with a special wheel.

Instead of the special truck-wheel just described the locomotive may be provided with a wheel or roller normally maintained in operative position, but capable of being removed therefrom by the locomotive-engi neer. Such a wheel is shown in my Patent N0.75s,401. 8 and bell-crank 1 6 would be omitted and lever 5 would be directly attached to sleeve 6.

' The operation when a locomotive aproaches the open switch-toward the point is as follows: The projection 25 rides against the bar 4 and crowds the same outwardly, the forward end of said bar thereby causing the rear end of lever 5 to approach the rail and the front end of the latter lever to recede from the rail and through its connection with the switch-rod 3 to move said rod to close the switch. The connection between lever 5 and the switch-rod 3 consists, as will be evident, of the bell-crank lever 16 and sleeve 6, the former constituting at this time a rigid strut between said lever and the switch-rod and the sleeve 6 being prevented from sliding on the switch-rod by the collar or projec tion 7. When, however, it is desired that the train should enter the siding, it is only necessary for the brakeman to pull the rod 22, which has the effect of swinging the bellcrank 16 to the right, owing to its pin-andslot connection with the bar 8, to which the rod 22 is attached. Then when the lever 5 is swung, as before, by the approaching train it simply has the efiect of swinging the bellcrank lever 16 still farther to the right, since the latter no longer forms a strut between the lever 5 and the sleeve 6. Now when a train equipped with the special truck-wheel described comes off the siding the projection 24 first strikes the end of bar 8, the effect of which is of course the same as that caused by pulling on the rod 22-viz., to swing bellcrank 16 to the right and, in efiect, to break the connection between lever 5 and sleeve 6. The consequence is that the switch is not closed by the train, as it would be, owing to the projection 24 on the wheel riding along bar 8 and lever 4 were the connection between lever 5 and sleeve 6 not broken.

One of the advantages of my present invention resides in the fact that the provision of the mechanism for automatically closing the switch interferes in no way at all with the ordinary process of hand switching. When the switch is operated by hand, the switch-rod 3 slides through the sleeve 6 without moving it or any of the related parts. After the switch has been closed by the operation of the automatic mechanism the mere Where such a wheel is used, bar

act of normally opening the switch again resets the mechanism in operative position.

The switch-stand which I prefer to use in combination with my above-descril)ed automatic switch mechanism is that known as the Rampoe Safety Switch Stand with Rigid Throw/7 the same comprising a spring which acts to complete the throw of the switch in either direction when it has been more than one-half closed.

I may add in conclusion that this apparatus may be used with the mechanism disclosed in Patent No. 788,572 granted to me May 2, 1905. switch-rod 1, and all the apparatus would be used instead of sleeve 6 illustrated herein,

bell-crank 16 being directly attached to said. plate. Furthermore, by reversing the posi tion of thebell-erank 16 fromthat shown in my present application and connecting it directly to lever 1, omitting lever 5, the switch could be arranged to be automatically closed by a train coming in the opposite direction.

hat I consider my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is expressed in the following claims:

1. In a railway-switch, the combination with the switch-rod thereof, of a bar pivoted to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train, a normally rigid connection between said bar and switch-rod, and means arranged to be actuated by a train coming of]? the siding to break said connection when it is not desired to have the switch automatically closed.

2. In a railway-switch, the combination with the switch-rod thereof, of a bar pivoted to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train, means connecting said bar and switchrod so that the actuation of the former by a train will move the latter to close the switch, said means constructed and arranged to permit manual shifting of the switch-rod. without moving said bar, and means arranged to be actuated by a train coming of]? the siding to break said rigid connection when it is not desired to have the switch automatically closed.

3. In a railway-switch, the combination with the switch-rod thereof, of a bar movably mounted adjacent to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train, normally rigid connections between said bar and switch-rod whereby actuation of said bar by a train will move said switcl1-rod to close the switch, a second bar mounted adjacent to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train coming in the opposite direction and a connection between said second bar and said normally rigid connection whereby the latter is broken by the actuation of said second bar by a train.

4. In a railway-switch, the combination with the switch-rod thereof, of a sleeve slid- In that case plate 15, slotted ably mounted upon said switch-rod, means to limitthe movement of said sleeve on said switch-rod in one direction, a lever pivotally mounted upon said sleeve, a bar pivoted adjacent to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train, connections between said bar and lever, whereby the actuation of saidbar acts through said lever to move the switch-rod to close the switch and means to swing said lever so as to, in effect, break the connection between said bar and switch-rod when it is not desired to have the switch auto- 'matically closed.

5. In a railway-switch, the combination bar and said member, whereby actuation of the former by a train running off the siding swings said member on its pivot and breaks the rigid connection between said first-mentioned bar and the switchrod.

6. In a railway-switch, the combination with the switch-rod thereof, of means mounted adjacent to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train, connections between said means and switch-rod whereby the latter is automatically moved to close the switch,

said means constructed and arranged to permit manual shifting ofthe switch-rod without moving said means or connections, and means adapted to be actuated by a train running ofl the siding to render said connections inoperative.

7. In a railway-switch, the combination with the switch-rod thereof, of a sleeve slidably mounted up on said rod, means to limit the movement of said sleeve on said rod in onedirection, a bell-crank pivotally mounted upon said sleeve, ver with one arm approximately parallel with said rod, a bar movably mounted adjacent to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train, a lever pivoted adjacent to the track and having pin-and-slot connections at its ends with said bar and bell-crank respectively, a second bar movably mounted adjacent to the track and arranged to be actuated by a train running ofi the siding, said second bar having a pin-and-slot connection with the other arm of said bell-crank lever, and a rod connected to said second bar for manual actuation of the same.

In testimony whereof I have afiiXed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

URBAN A. WOO'DBURY,

Witnesses:

T. P. OBRIEN, W1 WALLACE DONAHOE.

a spring tending to keep said le' 

